supply and demand exists. €2,995 for a PortaSplit in a heatwave is still disgusting.
Before anyone says “that’s just the market”: yes, obviously. Demand goes up in a heatwave, stock gets low, and sellers raise prices. Nobody is confused about how supply and demand works.But there is a difference between a normal market price increase and exploiting people who are overheated, desperate, elderly, sick, working from home, or simply trying to sleep.This Midea PortaSplit 3.5 kW was recently available around the €800 - €1,000 range. Now it is listed on Otto Marketplace for €2,994.99, with “fast ausverkauft” added for extra panic pressure. That is not a reasonable adjustment. It is a reseller looking at a heatwave and asking: how much suffering can be converted into margin?Sure, the seller is listed as HybridSell, not necessarily Otto directly. But marketplaces should not pretend to care about customers while allowing absurd listings like this to sit next to their polished “fair shopping” branding. It may be legal. It may be “the market.” It may even sell to someone with no other option. That does not make it respectable.
Posted Jun 27, 2026, 7:20 AM UTC